We recite poems every month. Here is a short video of our 2-year old pupils of the Little Star Class, reciting The Tyger by the English poet William Blake at the Christmas Show 2016.

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Our Philosophy:

Highest Quality Education for children in their "Early Years".

The preschool years provide a unique window of opportunity, with children soaking up knowledge, social skills and behaviours rapidly. We recognise this and ensure we provide a diverse, stimulating and magical education to nourish their natural creativity.

All of our teaching comes with a firm Arts backbone, which we believe leads to maximum learning benefits. Literacy, numeracy, science and fluency in English are never compromised. Teaching children these fundamental skills via different, stimulating mediums, such as rhythm, dance, artistic techniques, story-telling and drama, helps to make the learning experience enjoyable, memorable and more permanent.

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Most importantly, we provide our children with the opportunity to look at the world differently, understanding there are multiple perspectives, and prompting them to be curious, inquisitive and open minded.

School Facilities

Situated in the cultural heart of Tokyo, a few minutes walk from Omotesando and Gaienmae stations, Clarence International School is a beautiful, bright and sunny building set over four floors. Seinan Elementary School, Aoyama Children’s Centre and Matsuyama Ballet School are all in the vicinity. There is a children’s park three minutes walk away, where the children go for their daily play.

The inside of the school building boasts brand new specially designed classrooms, library, quiet area and play areas.

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What Parents Say

"Having visited more than 30 international schools, we couldn’t find anything that suited, until we

found Clarence. After the first trial lesson, we decided to sign up immediately; our daughter had previously refused to go to her pre-school for months, but here she had fun from the very first day. We’re very fortunate to have found a school which meets all of our expectations. It’s based on a brilliant educational concept, and in a rich school environment, which top-class teachers. My daughter is now attending summer school, and we’re looking forward to her full-time enrolment in September."

Mrs. K - newly registered parent

"At her previous pre-school, our daughter took 6 months to stop crying, and a year to smile when

saying ‘goodbye’ each morning. She’s a sweet and shy girl, so we thought it would be hard for her to

move to a new environment. From the first day, she was smiling, singing and dancing with the

teachers; we were surprised and thrilled to see her so delighted and enjoying the class so much.

The teachers truly care about the children and clearly enjoy teaching! The classrooms are very well

designed – inspiring, even! We look forward to seeing our daughter grow up in this school."

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Mrs. F - newly registered parent

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How is art consistent with ‘traditional’ education in literacy, numeracy and science?

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Answer:

We believe that art complements, and enhances the learning of literacy, numeracy and science. Art is central to an exploration of the wider world, and as such shouldn’t be separated off as an adjunct, only to be enjoyed as a leisure activity.

Through learning art, children are also taught fundamental life, and academic skills. For example, through dance we teach skills such as travelling, space, relationships, interactions and dynamics. In drama, they learn about body language, props, cultures and language. In visual arts they discover shading, textures, shapes and perspective. And via music and poetry they learn styles, tempos, rhythm, rhyme and metaphor. Every activity has a clear learning outcome in mind, so whilst the children may feel they are merely playing, singing and dancing, they are actually absorbing linguistic and numeracy skills.

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Q. What might a typical day look like?

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Answer:

Every part of the day has been designed carefully to maximise learning outcomes.

Each morning starts with plenty of singing, including a special Circle Time where they enjoy songs related to the monthly learning theme, as well as songs about numbers.

The first part of the morning is then spent as an immersion in the arts, with children experiencing art firsthand, before exploring and responding to the stimulus via a number of activities, finally creating a piece of their own to take home.

Outdoor play follows, with encouragement to observe the world, and nature around them, before they come back indoors to complete the morning in Discovery time. This period is when they will discover new vocabulary, numeracy and counting via props, objects or movement. Lunchtime and story-time follows.

For children staying for a full day, there will be a nap time or more outdoor play, plus the chance to experience a second immersion in the arts, building on the morning’s activity. Each day, children will feel that they have been on a journey, with each activity building on and complementing what they have previously learnt.

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Q. At what age do children start learning to read?

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Answer:

Reading skills are introduced to children in Little Star class, at the age of 2 years. Stories are an integral part of our daily routine. Children are surrounded by books, and by words; our ‘word trees’ are a useful metaphor for language acquisition, but are also a beautiful visual way of displaying learning: children will see the words they are learning form part of the fabric of the rooms as their environment grows alongside them.

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Q. Do you use iPads and technology in classes?

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Answer:

We do not use iPads in the classroom, but have invested in other forms of technology which stimulate both creativity and knowledge. We use Bee-Bots, specially designed robots for young children which can be used to teach simple programming principles. For older children who join us for after school English, we will offer programmes such as the ‘Hour of Code’ as part of our weekend enrichment activities. We consider film and photography as distinct art forms; as such, we have included opportunities for photographic composition and stop-frame animation in our curriculum.

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Q. Do you offer an extended school day for working parents?

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Answer:

Our after-hours Nursery will be open every day for students of all ages: there will be activities such as songs and story-time, or our students can use the space to relax or finish their homework. The standard arrival time is from 8:45 - 9:00am. Parents can also drop off their children early, from 8:15am, for a small additional fee.

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Q. My child is 16 months, can they join?

Answer:
Yes, younger children are welcome at Clarence International, and will join the 2 - 3 years Little Star class. To reflect the additional needs of this age group, the fees will be charged at an increase of 10% until the child’s second birthday.